Texas A&M basketball falls to the UCF Knights tonight, 86-74, at Reed Arena. The team now falls to 2-2 to start the season. That was simply embarrassing by Bucky McMillan and this Texas A&M basketball team tonight. After an ugly first half that was knotted up 30-30 headed into the locker room, the Aggies started off hot in the second half. They built up a 14-point lead with 12:15 to go, but it was all UCF from there.
Going into this game, the keys to victory for the Aggies were to win the rebounding and turnover battle, force fouls, and play better defense. In the first 28 minutes, they did just that. Despite first half scoring troubles, the Aggies played like the better team.
Second half meltdown by Texas A&M basketball positively embarrasses Aggie fans
They were in complete control heading into the last 12 minutes, and they fell apart. Three-point shooting issues continued as the Aggies were held to 9/29, or 31%, from beyond the arc. The Aggies went 12-28 from 2-point land, which, for a team that primarily takes their 2-point shots from layup range, is very very very bad. Missed layups, 8 second half turnovers, and missed free throws down the stretch led to the Aggies' demise.
UCF was just too good in the second half. They put up 56 second half points, shot 50% from both the field, and beyond the arc. Jordan Burks led the Knights with 21 points, and Carmelo Pacheco came off the bench and went 5/6 from 3 for 15 total points.
There were a few bright spots for the Aggies tonight. The Aggies had 6 total players in double figures for points, led by Marcus Hill with 14. Pop Isaacs had a season high 11 points tonight, and has steadily looked more confident in his role. Zach Clemence had his second straight game in double figures cementing himself as a regular rotational piece for the Aggies.
Rashaun Agee and Ruben Dominguez continue to struggle from beyond the arc, going 2/11 between the two of them. Federiko Federiko, Jacari Lane, and Rylan Griffen combined for only 2 points. This can't continue to happen.
The sentiment from Aggie fans tonight is embarrassment, and they are completely correct. This was an embarrassing loss. I hate to say it, but if the Aggies want any shot at the NCAA tournament, they will need to win out for the rest of non-conference play. They still have two neutral site games against Florida State and SMU, as well as an away game against Pittsburgh. All are very winnable, but the Aggies will need to figure out their issues.
The Aggies' next game will be this coming Tuesday night, at home in Reed Arena, against the Montana Grizzlies. Hopefully this team can get back to their winning ways, get Mackenzie Mgbako back from injury, and start to figure things out as we get closer to conference play.